


In the Eye of the Beholder

by fencer_x



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2019-03-07 14:23:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13436655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fencer_x/pseuds/fencer_x
Summary: Rei and Nagisa discuss the subject of beauty—in bed.





	In the Eye of the Beholder

It's not that he wants to be thinking about that sort of thing at a time like this—it's only that he can't _help_ it. The thoughts come unbidden, floating up to the forefront of his mind and pushing aside more pressing matters with need and urgency and that ever-present _drive for perfection_ , and it's only when the rhythmic huffs and creaks are broken by the occasional animalistic grunt or muffled whine that he's brought back to the here and now, the monotony that dooms him to focus on his form—or lack thereof—blessedly shattered as he's insistently tugged back to the task at hand.

"Thinking…about your stupid…numbers again, Rei-chan…?" Nagisa breathes, a pout laced in his tone and words choppy and broken over labored exhalations. Rei jolts sharply, blood flushing through his veins when Nagisa's legs come up, the sensitive skin of his inner thigh brushing over Rei's hipbones like a jockey urging his mount forward—and Rei might have been embarrassed at the little jerk he executes, seating himself deeper, in response were he not already doing something leagues beyond the boundary where shame might be acceptable. 

Nagisa teases him enough as-is; he'd rather be thought some wanton lust-driven madman than a marionette Nagisa can goad into _harder faster deeper_ just by brushing against an erogenous zone. Even if he's pretty sure Nagisa can see right through him already.

He swallows thickly, closing his eyes and focusing not on the numbers, not on keeping his rhythm at a perfect 4/4, not on cocking his hips or supporting Nagisa's ass to get that _perfect_ angle—the one that Nagisa says makes him see stars and _You've gotta try it too, Rei-chan!_ —but on not embarrassing himself and earning another _don't sweat it, Rei-chan!_ from Nagisa by climaxing too early. Nagisa must understand this—though how he can tell the difference between _this_ attempt to focus and his more banal ones is beyond Rei—because he doesn't pull Rei back, just lifts his arms up and loops them around Rei's neck soft and gentle, like he's worried he might break Rei's concentration but still _needs_ to touch and be closer.

Rei feels the muscles in his back and shoulders lose some of their tension, nerves relaxing as he lets himself dwindle down to just this moment, this bedroom, this dark summer night just before the cicadas come in full force and break the quiet gloom, Nagisa a bright brilliant point he's drawn to like a moth to a flame, fluttering aimlessly and so helplessly attracted to the bit of beauty and adventure he offers. 

Moths aren't beautiful at all; just an ugly, hairy reflection of a butterfly, and he wonders what it is Nagisa thinks about when they're like this—Rei unable to resist his invitations, no matter how cliched or transparent and so eager to go along with whatever Nagisa might suggest despite a few half-hearted protests. 

Something soft brushes against his jawline—a track of butterfly kisses from his chin to his ear, as far as Nagisa can reach in this position. "You're beautiful like this, Rei-chan…" he whispers, and it's not seductive—at least, not more seductive than anything Nagisa might say on any given day, which isn't saying much—just wondering observation, like Nagisa's only just realized, and Rei wants to turn away, to _get_ away, but Nagisa has his legs locked around his hips and his arms around Rei's neck, so he has to lie here and listen. "…D'you think I'm beautiful?"

Rei jerks back so hard he practically pulls Nagisa off the bed entirely, and winces when Nagisa clenches around him in panic at nearly falling off the bed. He braces himself with one arm and lays a steady hand across Nagisa's collarbone with the other, collecting his thoughts. "That's…why would…" But Nagisa just stares up, eyes wide and wondering, and for once he's not teasing, he's just _curious_. "Boys…aren't supposed to be beautiful," he responds diplomatically.

Nagisa cocks his head before letting his gaze drop as he flops back down against the mattress. His legs fall away from Rei's hips and straddle open inelegantly. "…Haru-chan's beautiful when he swims, though… And Rei-chan's vault is beautiful too…"

"Forms can be beautiful; beauty is in itself only a matter of pleasing proportions, after all." Nagisa makes a face at this, but well, he asked for it. "…So I don't understand how you can say such things about people…"

Nagisa cocks his head, stray hairs mussed by their activities sticking to his forehead and damp and dark with sweat. "I dunno how Rei-chan can be so smart…and so dumb at the same time." He smiles as he delivers the quip, though, amused at some private joke. "I guess I'm smarter on this point, then."

Rei snorts derisively. "Fine, believe what you like." There's no use arguing with Nagisa when he's being stubborn, and he flicks a glance over at the digital clock on his desk, bright red numbers glaring back an hour that's far past an appropriate bedtime. Summer break or not, they should really wrap this up. He takes a deep breath and slowly releases it, steeling himself for one final round to wear them both out sufficiently that he won't have to deal with conversation like this until well into the afternoon—but Nagisa lays a hand on his forearm, squeezing. "…What?"

"…You never said. If you think I'm beautiful or not."

"I said…" But Nagisa purses his lips into a thing, eyes going dark and serious because _it's important_ , and Rei releases a soft huff of irritation, reaching around to tug one of Nagisa's legs back up into place, locking it at his hips in silent suggestion for him to do the same with the other before bracing both hands against the mattress and leaning down, close enough that their chests brush and sending a thrill through Nagisa that manifests as a tiny gasp. "Beauty fades. I wouldn't seek it so desperately if I were you."

"You don't…think I'm beautiful then." The pout in his voice is overshadowed by the throaty burr of passion delayed, though.

"Beauty fades," he repeats before pressing a kiss to Nagisa's neck, laving his tongue over the pulse point. "Desirability does not." He can feel the chuckle in Nagisa's throat before he hears it, smiling against the skin that thrums beneath his lips. He grunts with effort as he pulls up his hips, sliding out as far as the angle will allow before gravity tugs him back inside, helped along by Nagisa's fingers scrabbling at his back and the thighs gripped vice-like along his sides.

"Rei-chan _wants me_ ," he crows, words nearly flubbed over passion-flushed lips. "Pervert~"

"Hardly something…I want to hear from you…"

Nagisa just chuckles again, light and excited, and he lifts his hips to meet Rei's next thrust, the mutual momentum making the impact jarring. "Then I won't talk anymore." Rei's expression must betray his suspicion, for Nagisa quickly amends, "Til we finish, I mean."

At this, Rei renews his efforts, falling silent and focused, but not on the numbers this time—it's hard to concentrate on anything _not_ Nagisa somehow when he's quiet, like the very fact that he's not drawing attention to himself in some way draws _more_ attention. The steady creak and slap rhythm is background noise as Rei loses himself in watching Nagisa react—a flash of white teeth as he bites his lip to keep those keening moans from slipping out, a drop of sweat beading at his temple and trembling over flushed skin, a bright red mark just over his pulse point that Nagisa will have a hard time explaining away in the morning. 

There's no rhyme or reason to Nagisa, a mess of incongruency and disproportion, but he's beautiful all the same like this—and if this is what Nagisa sees when he looks at Rei, maybe Rei's beautiful too, as he keeps insisting. Maybe Nagisa _is_ smarter on this point. Maybe desirability makes one beautiful—or maybe it's just desire itself clouding judgment, like steam or fog or glasses with the wrong prescription, setting everything out of focus and lending instead a soft blur that saps away reason and leaves behind only _urge_. 

Nagisa's lips flutter, like he wants to speak but won't because he said he wouldn't or _can't_ because his mind's all over the place, stretched a million different ways to focus on a million different sensations. Yeah, it's definitely beautiful—and who the hell cares what makes it so? Beauty is beauty, fleeting though it may be, and it would be a waste not to take the time to appreciate it.

So Rei does—he appreciates the _fuck_ out of Nagisa.


End file.
